1 Year Down, 15 months to go

I have been in Albania for one year as of today!! I can't believe how fast the time has been going. The new group of volunteers arrived yesterday. 34 new trainees. I can't wait to meet them. It's hard to believe that I am no longer the "new kid" and that next year at this time I will be close to leaving. The experience here has been everything I thought it would be but so much more. I have learned Albanian, have helped with numerous projects, have built relationships in my community and now feel as though Lezhe is my home. Just walking to work today I had to stop and have conversations with 4 people on the road. I have been so lucky with my placement and service. The continued support from my friends and family back home has also been tremendous and I am so happy that I have them behind me on this adventure. This would be much harder without their continuing support.
On another note, I just got back from Athens, Greece on Tuesday. The bus ride on the way down wasn't as bad as I thought the 14 hours would be. There was an American backpacking through Europe so he kept me company until we all started dozing off. My first day in Athens I walked around A LOT and saw most of the "typical" tourist sites. I stayed with a couchsurfer that night and he showed me around at night and we met up with another couchsurfer for drinks. The conference that I went to Athens for started on Friday and I met up with Dile, an Albanian from Lezha there. The conference was ok but a lot of things didn't apply to us since it was for the European Union and Albania is not a part of the EU (yet...). Anyways, Dile and I slept at a Greek girl's place for the last 3 nights. Sophie was a great host as well and I had fun talking with her. The conference ended on Sunday and there was time for more shopping, sight seeing and eating. I was so happy to eat my authentic greek salad and gyros!! Haha. Dile left early Monday morning but my return bus didn't leave until 8pm. I spent the day with Dile's cousin and his family. They were really nice and showed me around Pireaus (the port of Athens). The trip back to Albania was much longer but I made it back :)
Now I will be busy for awhile helping prepare materials for the new trainees, making materials for my municipality and helping with some smaller projects. Spring is going to fly by and it will be summer before I know it!!
Hugs to everyone!
Leslie